Vasily Alekseyev was one of the most celebrated weightlifters of the 20th century and a symbol of russia culture and athletic dominance. He rose from humble beginnings in rural Russia to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist and holder of 80 world records.
Born in 1942 in the village of Pokrovo-Shishkino during wartime, Alekseyev was raised in a working-class family and endured early hardship. His father worked multiple shifts at a local distillery while Alekseyev developed his strength helping with timber work in northern Russia. He often referred to logs and railcar wheels as his first weights.
At 19, while studying forestry in Arkhangelsk, he discovered weightlifting after initially training in volleyball. He later married a woman named Olimpiada, with whom he had two children. Financial hardship forced him to temporarily pause his studies and work in Siberia. Despite pressure to abandon athletics, he returned to training and developed his own method, favoring volume and sweat over conventional styles.
In 1966, Alekseyev moved to the mining town of Shakhty where he briefly trained under Olympic champion Rudolf Plyukfelder. Their differences in style led Alekseyev to train alone. He tested dozens of techniques on himself, pushing his limits with sessions that reportedly caused him to change soaked training shirts up to a dozen times a day.
In 1970, Alekseyev stunned the weightlifting world by becoming the first person to lift 500 pounds at a world championship in the United States. His performance earned him international acclaim and a symbolic gift from President Richard Nixon. His strength and personality turned him into a global icon.
Alekseyev was known for his showmanship. At one awards ceremony, he lifted the trophy presenter in one hand and the trophy itself in the other. He trained with joy and purpose, often lifting up to 40 tons in a single session. Between 1970 and 1977, he won eight world and European titles and was the USSR national champion seven times.
He won Olympic gold medals in Munich in 1972 and Montreal in 1976. In Canada, while others failed doping tests, Alekseyev lifted clean and victorious, joking afterward, “Drink Russian vodka if you want results.”
His career had its setbacks. At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he failed to complete his opening lift. He later claimed he had been sabotaged with a herbal tincture that clouded his mind moments before stepping onstage.
Alekseyev once met Arnold Schwarzenegger and encouraged him to stay in Austria and become a national hero. But Schwarzenegger, of course, chose America. Alekseyev himself never wanted political office, rejecting even the leadership of the national weightlifting federation because it would have meant moving to Moscow, a city he openly disliked.
After retiring from competition, he coached the Soviet and later CIS national teams. Under his guidance, the team won 12 medals at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Known for his strict stance against doping, none of his athletes ever failed a drug test.
His legacy continues in his hometown of Shakhty, where a sports school bears his name and an annual tournament honors him. Alekseyev died in 2011 at age 69 from heart complications. He is remembered not only for his unmatched strength and records, but also for embodying a uniquely Russian spirit of resilience and pride.
